December 29, 2014
A came into port the other day. She was quite a sight. She came down the channel in back of our building, did a 180 degree pivot, and backed into Pier 16. I was watching from our balcony and waved at the crew. One waved back. I hope this means I’ll get an invitation to visit her while she is in port.
A, at almost 400 feet long, is a mega-yacht. She was built by the German firm Bloom + Voss at the HDW shipyard in Kiel, the same shipyard that built the Bismarck. She was designed by Phillipe Starck and Martin Francis. The first contract was executed in 2004, and she was delivered in 2008, at a cost estimated at $330 million dollars. She weighs about 5500 tons, which makes her larger than some warships.
There are clearly unique design features. The hull decreases in width as the height above the waterline increases, a feature know in the naval architecture world as tumblehome. The bow is certainly rakish, designed to slice through waves rather than ride over them. There is an open air pool in the back of the superstructure but the rest of the living areas are behind glass.
Two cruise ships in San Juan, 12/24/2014. Note that neither has a tumblehome design.
A’s design reminded me of something I’d seen before but could not quite recall. Was it a yacht owned by a nefarious character, perhaps Dr. Malware, CEO of TOOTH (The Organization Organized to Hate) in one of the James Bond movies? Was it Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidential yacht? A pre-World War I dreadnought? Inquiring minds have to know, so I did a little research.
Tumblehome hulls were common in oared and sail warships; the design evolved as steel became the construction material of choice. The Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia had a tumblehome form, as illustrated in the iconic chromolithograph illustrating the first battle between ironclads, in 1862.
First naval battle between ironclad ships, Hampton Roads, 1862. The CSS Virginia
(left) was built from the remains of the scuttled USS Merrimac.
For some reason, the French became the leading proponents of this type of design.
The 1891 French battleship Jaureguiberry.
Note the Jaureguiberry’s rakish bow as well as the tumblehome hull. She very well may have been the impetus for the design team as they designed A.
The USS Zumwalt at launch. It is alleged the tumblehome design reduces the radar image to that of a small fishing boat
The US Navy has adopted this design for the new Zumwalt class destroyers. The first, DD 1000, was launched in 2013 and will be fully operational in 2016.
The birth of A was not without problems. The owners thought the exterior paint job defective, and sued the contractors for $100 million dollars, with the lawsuit brought in federal court in Union, New Jersey. Imagine that – a tenth of a billion dollars over a paint job. I bet that’s more than the GDP of some sub-Saharan African nations. And they have Ebola to worry about. And Union, New Jersey? Was that some kind of perverse punishment for the defendants’ lawyers? Union not too long ago was ground zero for law suits brought under various provisions of the Clean Air Act.
The Russian multi-billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko commissioned and owns A, along with a private jet (a Boeing 737), an apartment in New York overlooking Central Park, Harewood Estate in Ascot, Surrey, and another estate in the Antibes. And probably other stuff as well. He is somewhere in Forbes list of 100 wealthiest people. Not bad for somebody born in 1972. He married the Serbian model and pop singer Aleksandra Nikolić in September 2005. Whitney Houston performed at the wedding. It is rumored that, prior to her wedding, Aleksandra was romantically involved with Bruce Willis. Aleksandra managed to exert her influence on the interior design of A, forcing, for example, a downsize of the on-board discotheque.
As you might imagine, the internet has all kinds of information and opinions about A. David Pelly of Boat International wrote it was “…the most extraordinary yacht launched in recent memory. It is stunning.” Maritime commentator Peter Mello was somewhat less charitable “…one of the most hideous vessels ever to sail the seas.” Use this link for a video tour given to a reporter from the Wall Street Journal: http//:megayachtnews.com/2010/04/superyacht-a-andrey-melnichenko. The tour does not mention the fact that the ship’s conference room is bomb-proof (I’m not sure from what type of bomb) nor that A is equipped with veterinary facilities such that the Melnichenko’s dog need not be quarantined when travelling to distant ports.
So here’s my question: Could I be happy sailing the seven seas in A, in 24,000 square feet of living area, swimming in her three pools, using her smaller boats stored inside the hull, dancing in the downsized discotheque, being served gourmet meals and otherwise waited on by a crew of 35 to 40?
I don’t know, but I’d like to give it a try. Andrey, if you’re reading this, give me a call. If you let me use A, all expenses paid, for three months, I promise I won’t bug you about using your 737. I’m sure we can work something out.
For information about the paint lawsuit, see: http://johnhelmer.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Melnichenko-Hamilton-Yachts-orig-complaint-UNN-L2634-10-Append-XII-BI-07-08-10-Cmplt.pdf
See Wikipedia entries for Tumblehome, Battle of Hampton Roads, Andrei Melnichenko, Zumwalt, and Motor Yacht A for more information.
